June 15th, Wednesday.
Around 11 AM, Pei Qian sat up in bed, scratching his bird’s nest of hair.
After spacing out for half a minute, Pei Qian decided to get up, wash up, and then check the aftermath of yesterday’s Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0—that is, the Esports Life Hall—opening ceremony.
While brushing his teeth, he recalled yesterday’s nightmare in his mind.
“OTTO Technology made a feature-rich software for Tuoguan Fitness.”
“Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 was turned into an Esports Life Hall, and it was made extremely cool, with even the computer lights showing off.”
“Xiao Peng blew a lot of hot air about a ‘Grand Esports Ecosystem,’ firmly binding games, esports, and internet cafés together.”
“DGE Esports Club played an exhibition match, confirming Xiao Peng’s Grand Esports Ecosystem concept, and also promoted Tuoguan Fitness in the process.”
“And the last scene I remember was numerous gaming media surrounding Xiao Peng and the club members for interviews.”
“Ah, what a nightmare!”
As Pei Qian carefully recalled, yesterday’s Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 launch was full of twists and turns, with misfortunes one after another!
After washing up, Pei Qian had mentally prepared himself for the current situation.
Based on the available information, this first Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 was likely to become popular.
Popular right from its opening, setting the worst record since the establishment of the Slackin’ Internet Café business.
However, this wasn’t too serious a problem. After all, when setting up the store, Pei Qian already knew that Slackin’ Internet Café was a high-risk industry. Not to mention anything else, just the loyal Slackin’ Internet Café users in Jingzhou alone could probably sustain this 3.0 model café.
Besides, internet cafés are inherently high-investment, slow-return businesses. Even if they start making money right after opening, it would take a long time to recover the initial massive investments, including renovation costs, computer and peripheral equipment expenses, and so on.
But what Pei Qian couldn’t accept was that this Xiao Peng had impulsively created such a grand event, directly promoting the esports club and Tuoguan Fitness as well!
If these two suddenly started making money, that would be truly unacceptable to Pei Qian.
So, after mentally preparing himself, Pei Qian sat on the sofa and opened his laptop, intending to check related news reports to confirm whether the esports club and Tuoguan Fitness were still safe.
After searching separately for DGE Esports Club and Tuoguan Fitness, Pei Qian found some reports.
“DGE Esports Club Schedule Exposed: How to Cultivate Esports Heartthrobs!”
“Shocking! Before-and-After Fitness Photos of DGE Esports Club Members—Whose Change is the Greatest?”
“In-Depth Analysis of the New ‘Tuoguan Fitness’ Model: Could This Be Part of Tenda’s Grand Strategy?”
After reading a few reports, Pei Qian felt slightly relieved.
It seemed that DGE Esports Club had only sparked discussions and gained some attention, but there was no risk of profitability.
The situation with Tuoguan Fitness was a bit precarious, with many reports hyping this new model. However, judging from the comments below, many consumers still maintained a skeptical attitude.
After all, the price and the bundled fitness meal consumption were hard for many people to accept.
In short, the buzz and name recognition had indeed grown significantly, which would inevitably translate into some profit, but to say it would turn losses into gains and instantly become a hit… seemed premature.
Pei Qian breathed a small sigh of relief.
In just one day, things hadn’t had time to get that bad yet; signs were just beginning to emerge.
Pei Qian then started searching for reports about the opening day of Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0.
However, the first thing he found was a news article from Gaming Fun Times.
The headline was: “Exclusive! Tenda Group’s Mr. Pei Appears at Esports Life Hall, Makes Surprising Interpretation…”
Pei Qian: “?”
What is this?
That reporter figured out my true identity? Didn’t I call myself “Mr. Ma, who wishes to remain anonymous”?
And what’s with this clickbait news headline!
Recalling those unpleasant interview experiences before, Pei Qian instinctively felt a sense of crisis and quickly clicked to view.
I have to say, clickbait titles do work.
Even Mr. Pei was deceived into clicking without any resistance.
“At 1 PM on June 14th, the opening ceremony of Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 model store and Tenda Group’s first Esports Life Hall was held as scheduled on the fourth floor of Hongde Mall’s south wing near Handong University…”
There was nothing special at the beginning, mainly introducing the day’s scene, including some photos, and so on.
Pei Qian quickly skipped ahead to see the crucial part that followed.
“What is little known is that on the opening day, Tenda Group’s President, Mr. Pei, was also present, but he very low-key wore a mask and didn’t arrange any speech segments, just silently watching the entire opening ceremony from beginning to end.”
“Fortunately, when interviewing audience members at the scene, I happened to interview a Mr. Ma who wished to remain anonymous. After confirmation from a service staff, this low-key and handsome young man was indeed Tenda Group’s Mr. Pei!”
Seeing this, Pei Qian tried hard to control the corners of his mouth, not letting himself show too obvious a smile.
Although this reporter was clickbaity, when it came to reporting on such key issues, he was quite factual!
“Although using the pseudonym ‘Mr. Ma, Mr. Pei still provided in-depth answers to the questions I posed. Below, let me bring you first-hand information from the scene!”
“When answering questions about the ‘Grand Esports Ecosystem,’ Mr. Pei indicated that he did not fully agree with CEO Xiao’s concept. Obviously, in Mr. Pei’s planning, the true ‘Grand Esports Ecosystem’ would be more complex than what CEO Xiao described, and the blueprint that CEO Xiao presented to us is just the tip of the iceberg of Tenda Group’s ambitions.”
“When answering the question about ‘whether esports will impact life,’ Mr. Pei stated that the esports industry has already profoundly impacted his life, also hinting at his firm belief that in the future, esports will, like traditional sports, become an indispensable part of people’s lives, just as Tenda has brought tremendous changes to Jingzhou, affecting all aspects of public life.”
“When asked ‘how to view the miraculous effects of Tuoguan Fitness,’ Mr. Pei just smiled faintly, suggesting that we shouldn’t overly mythologize it.”
Pei Qian was stunned.
What’s this about smiling faintly?
Thinking back carefully, he did unconsciously twitch the corner of his mouth at that time.
So… could this Mr. Reporter clearly distinguish between a helpless smile and a confident smile?
“Mr. Pei is concerned that some media exaggerating fitness effects would constitute substantial misleading of consumers. Tenda has always been honest with people and never engages in any false advertising.”
“At the same time, Mr. Pei is also telling consumers that fitness requires perseverance and willpower. No gym in this world can give you a perfect physique; ultimately, it depends on you.”
“I must say, the fitness philosophy advocated by Mr. Pei’s Tuoguan Fitness is a healthy and scientific one.”
“But we must also note that this miraculous effect of Tuoguan Fitness can be described as immediate. Mr. Pei’s statement further reflects a wise mentality of ‘leaving room in one’s words.'”
“I wanted to ask more questions, but unfortunately, by the time I realized, Mr. Pei had already turned around and disappeared into the crowd.”
“[Image]”
Although this was a phone-captured image, the quality was quite good, and the focus was clear, after all, it was taken by a professional reporter.
All that could be seen was a sea of people at the entrance of Slackin’ Internet Café Esports Life Hall, all enthusiastic spectators who had just watched the match with excited faces. Their expressions varied—some eager, some excited, some expectant…
And among the countless people facing the camera, a figure turning away stood out so conspicuously.
“Mr. Pei’s back view reminds me of a line of poetry: After the matter is done, dust off your clothes and leave, deeply hiding both your identity and name.”
“At the opening of Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0, the Esports Life Hall, Mr. Pei came to the scene, low-key witnessing the beginning of the ‘Great Esports Era,’ then waved his sleeves and silently walked away, not taking away any trace of his presence.”
“Perhaps many years later, when Mr. Pei looks back at his vast esports empire, he will remember that it all originated from a small internet café and an exciting exhibition match between two teams.”
“Mr. Pei silently watched all this, leaving all the glory and cheers center stage for others, while he elegantly retreated after accomplishing the task, returning to the masses.”
“And this back view, isn’t it also a portrayal of Mr. Pei’s entrepreneurial style? Humble, low-key, seemingly with no presence, yet imperceptibly influencing every aspect of Tenda Group.”
“Truly, it can be said: Looking back at what has always been a desolate place, returning, without wind or rain or sunshine!”
…
After reading the entire report, Pei Qian felt complicated emotions.
What the hell is this!
Is this article a fusion of several different styles?
Looking at the title, it’s clickbait.
Looking at the beginning, it seems to be a factual report;
Then, in the final part, it suddenly starts forcing poetic quotes, becoming emotional!
“How can this reporter write like this?”
“Except for the ‘low-key and handsome young man’ part, the rest is complete nonsense!”
“Especially the last paragraph, it’s even more exaggerated than if they were paid to write it!”
“Such a ridiculous report, surely no one would believe it? Please don’t joke like this.”
Pei Qian silently opened the comments section.
However, as far as he could see, it was all praise, with much higher popularity than he had imagined!
“Seems to be true, CEO Xiao later confirmed that Mr. Pei was indeed present!”
“These aren’t Mr. Pei’s original words, right?”
“Of course, they’ve been artistically processed, but they should be more or less accurate.”
“Beautifully written, especially those two lines of poetry, and this image, perfectly matching Mr. Pei’s temperament!”
“Why do I feel inexplicably fired up? Especially the part about ‘many years later looking back at his vast esports empire,’ it’s dominating! I can even picture the scene!”
“I’ve already set this image as my wallpaper! Want to constantly remind myself to become a person like Mr. Pei!”
Looking at the comments below this report, Pei Qian silently scratched his head and fell into silence.
At the same time, many question marks floated up.
Artistically processed but more or less accurate?
Fired up?
Set as wallpaper?
Is something… wrong with this world?